Brain, spine, balance

INTRODUCTION: Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSCS), a non-invasive form of spinal cord stimulation, has been shown to improve motor function in individuals living with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the effects of different types of TSCS currents including direct current (DC-TSCS), alternating current (AC-TSCS), and spinal paired stimulation on the excitability of neural pathways have not been systematically investigated. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effects of TSCS on the excitability of neural pathways in adults with non-progressive SCI at any level...

Previous evidence of increased difference of muscular strength between the dominant and non-dominant legs in older adults suggests the possibility of dissimilar balance control between the legs (between-leg asymmetry) associated with aging. In the current investigation, we evaluated between-leg asymmetries in older adults when performing quiet and dynamic balance tasks. Fifty-two physically active and healthy older adults within the age range of 60 to 80 years were recruited. Participants performed balance tasks in unipedal stance, including quiet standing and cyclic sway (rhythmic oscillation) of the non-supporting leg in the anteroposterior or mediolateral directions, producing foot displacements with amplitudes of 20 cm paced in 1 Hz through a metronome...

Fluctuations in olfactory sensitivity are widely known to occur during pregnancy and may be responsible for hyperemesis gravidarum. These changes are thought to be caused by structural and functional alterations in neurons in response to marked changes of the hormonal milieu. In this study, we examined changes in neurons in the olfactory cortex during pregnancy and after delivery in rats. Dendritic spine densities were measured in the piriform cortex (PIR) and posterolateral cortical amygdala (COApl), which are involved in olfaction...

OBJECTIVE: This case report aims to present a rare case of thoracic lordosis and lumbar kyphosis and describe the posterior instrumented scoliosis correction performed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59-year-old female presented with low back pain. She had undergone ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement 8 years ago. I scored 76 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. MRI of the lumbar spine showed spinal canal stenosis at L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1. Full spine X-ray revealed thoracic lordosis and lumbar kyphoscoliosis， the coronal imbalance, and the sagittal compensatory balance...

In Parkinson's disease (PD), progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal innervation leads to atrophy and loss of dendritic spines of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). The loss disrupts corticostriatal transmission, impairs motor behavior, and produces nonmotor symptoms. Nigral neurons express brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and dopamine D3 receptors, both protecting the dopamine neurons and the spines of MSNs. To restore motor and nonmotor symptoms to normality, we assessed a combined therapy in a bilateral rat Parkinson's model, with only 30% of surviving neurons...

Over time, scientists have been fascinated by the complex connections among nutrition, brain development, and behavior. It's been well understood that the brain's peak performance relies on having the right nutrients available. Thus, nutritional insufficiency, where an organism lacks vital nutrients crucial for optimal growth and function, can upset the body's balance, potentially triggering stress responses. However, our grasp of how the brain reacts to insufficient nutrition, particularly in avian species like domestic chickens, has shown inconsistencies in our understanding...

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a refractory pediatric disease with a high prevalence, high disability rate, and difficult treatment. A variety of treatments are currently used for CP. The treatment involves drug and non-drug therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine external therapy is a very distinctive treatment method in non-drug therapy. As one of the external therapies of traditional Chinese medicine, massage is used in treating cerebral palsy and has good efficacy, small side effects, and strong operability. As a part of TCM external therapy, selective spinal manipulation can effectively promote the growth and development of infant rats with cerebral palsy...

Neurological rehabilitation is a physician-supervised programme for individuals with nervous system diseases, injuries or disorders. Neurological rehabilitation, also known as neurorehabilitation, is part of the rehabilitation process that improves function, reduces severity and enhances a patient's well-being. Because neurological injuries occur in the brain, spine and nerves, affecting multiple body parts including organs, blood vessels, muscles and bones, rehabilitation requires a multidisciplinary approach...

The Roman high-avoidance (RHA) and low-avoidance (RLA) rat lines/strains were established in Rome through bidirectional selection of Wistar rats for rapid (RHA) or extremely poor (RLA) acquisition of a two-way active avoidance task. Relative to RHAs, RLA rats exhibit enhanced threat sensitivity, anxiety, fear and vulnerability to stress, a passive coping style and increased sensitivity to frustration. Thus, RLA rats' phenotypic profile falls well within the "internalizing" behavior spectrum. Compared with RLAs and other rat strains/stocks, RHAs present increased impulsivity and reward sensitivity, deficits in social behavior and attentional/cognitive processes, novelty-induced hyper-locomotion and vulnerability to psychostimulant sensitization and drug addiction...

AIMS: Sevoflurane is widely used for general anesthesia in children. Previous studies reported that multiple neonatal exposures to sevoflurane can induce long-term cognitive impairment in adolescent rats, but the underlying mechanisms were not defined. METHODS: Postnatal day 6 (P6) to P8 rat pups were exposed to 30% oxygen with or without 3% sevoflurane balanced with air. The Y maze test (YMT) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests were performed in some cohorts from age P35 to assess cognitive functions, and their brain samples were harvested at age P14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 for measurements of various molecular entities and in vivo electrophysiology experiments at age P35...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Polygala tenuifolia is used in a variety of Chinese medicine prescriptions for the classic dementia treatment, and polysaccharide is an important active component in the herb. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study investigated the in vivo anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) activity of the polysaccharide PTPS from Polygala tenuifolia using the senescence-accelerated mouse/prone8 (SAMP8) model and explored its molecular mechanism to lay the foundation for the development of polysaccharide-based anti-AD drugs...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by cardinal motor signs: 4-6 Hz resting tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. In addition, 3-18% of PD patients have camptocormia, an abnormal forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine, which may have a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Different possible treatments have been suggested for such a condition, but no one is resolutive. This study aims to define the possible impact of DBS, with selective targeting on the dorsal-lateral region of the STN, on the sagittal balance of patients affected by PD...

Glia comprise a heterogeneous group of cells involved in the structure and function of the central and peripheral nervous system. Glial cells are found from invertebrates to humans with morphological specializations related to the neural circuits in which they are embedded. Glial cells modulate neuronal functions, brain wiring and myelination, and information processing. For example, astrocytes send processes to the synaptic cleft, actively participate in the metabolism of neurotransmitters, and release gliotransmitters, whose multiple effects depend on the targeting cells...

Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a leading cause of age-related non-traumatic spinal cord disorders resulting from chronic degeneration of the cervical spine. While traditional clinical assessments rely on patient-reported measures, this study used the NIH Toolbox Motor Battery (NIHTBm) as an objective, quantitative measure to determine DCM severity. The objective is to define NIHTBm cutoff values that can accurately classify the severity of DCM neuromotor dysfunction. A case-controlled pilot study of patients with DCM and age-matched controls...

The mechanisms subserving motor skill acquisition and learning in the intact human brain are not fully understood. Previous studies in animals have demonstrated a causal relationship between motor learning and structural rearrangements of synaptic connections, raising the question of whether neurite-specific changes are also observable in humans. Here, we use advanced diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), sensitive to dendritic and axonal processes, to investigate neuroplasticity in response to long-term motor learning...

Transcranial electrical stimulation motor-evoked potentials (Tc-MEP) monitoring is a common practice in neurosurgery to prevent postoperative neurological damage. However, the use of neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) during Tc-MEP monitoring is a subject of controversy. In addition, the effectiveness of sugammadex, a selective reversal agent, in the context of Tc-MEP monitoring requires further investigation. This review aimed to clarify the considerations involved in achieving optimal Tc-MEP monitoring while ensuring patient safety...

PURPOSE: It has been suggested that the cause of the balance disorder seen in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) originates from the central nervous system. However, the extent of the balance problem and the dysfunction of which part of the central nervous system has not been investigated in detail. This study aimed to correlate the values obtained by balance analysis and cerebellum volume measurement in female individuals with AIS with healthy individuals. METHODS: Cerebellum volume was calculated via the cloud-based software " https://volbrain...

Understanding the microglial neuro-immune interactions in the primate brain is vital to developing therapeutics for cortical injury, such as stroke or traumatic brain injury. Our previous work showed that mesenchymal-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) enhanced motor recovery in aged rhesus monkeys following injury of primary motor cortex (M1), by promoting homeostatic ramified microglia, reducing injury-related neuronal hyperexcitability, and enhancing synaptic plasticity in perilesional cortices. A focal lesion was induced via surgical ablation of pial blood vessels over lying the cortical hand representation of M1 of aged female rhesus monkeys, that received intravenous infusions of either vehicle (veh) or EVs 24 h and again 14 days post-injury...

Cervical sagittal balance plays a pivotal role in spine surgeries as it has a significant impact on the clinical outcomes in cervical spine surgery. Image processing techniques have significantly improved the accuracy and precision of cervical surgical techniques. This study aims to investigate the effects of T1 slope (T1s) on the disappearance of cervical lordosis after posterior cervical double-door laminoplasty using medical informatics and radiographic measures. To do so, we determined and measured the loss of T1s and cervical lordosis during the postoperative follow-up period in patients with double-door posterior cervical laminoplasty...

The Flaviviridae family comprises positive-sense single-strand RNA viruses mainly transmitted by arthropods. Many of these pathogens are especially deleterious to the nervous system, and a myriad of neurological symptoms have been associated with infections by Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in humans. Studies suggest that viral replication in neural cells and the massive release of pro-inflammatory mediators lead to morphological alterations of synaptic spine structure and changes in the balance of excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitters and receptors...